Akuma (in Japanese, "devil" or "demon"), known in Japan as Gouki(豪鬼,Gōki?, lit. "Great Spirit" or "Great Soul"), is a fictional character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games by Capcom. Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden boss. In the storyline of the Street Fighter video games, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu's and Ken's master. In some games he also has an enhanced version named Shin Akuma, or Shin Gouki(真・豪鬼,Shin Gōki?, the "true Great Spirit") in Japanese. Akuma has achieved significant success, popularity, positive critical reception, and has been mostly well received by both fans and critics.

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Akuma has dark red hair, dark skin tone, glowing red eyes with black sclera, wears prayer beads around his neck, a black karate gi and a piece of twine around his waist in lieu of an obi. The kanji "ten" (天) — meaning "Heaven" — can be seen on his back when it appears during certain win animations. Shin Akuma's appearance is very similar to Akuma's; for example, in the Street Fighter Alpha series, Shin Akuma had a purple karate gi instead of a black one and marginally darker skin tone. Akuma's introduction in Super Street Fighter II Turbo stemmed from the development team's desire to introduce a "mysterious and really powerful" character, with his status as a hidden character within the game resulting from later discussions.[2] When asked regarding the presence of Akuma as a secret character in several of Capcom's fighting games, Capcom's Noritaka Funamizu stated that, while he did not personally support the concept, he supposed that "Akuma is a character that can fit in any game design nicely".[3]

Akuma's play style incorporates the trademark techniques of Ryu and Ken, the series' protagonists, only noticeably stronger in comparison along with additional techniques. Akuma has also been one of the characters with the lowest health and stun meter in most of the games he has appeared in. As the franchise expanded, the three characters have been differentiated somewhat while still retaining their common techniques (e.g. different regular attacks, throws, Super moves). In games where Akuma has appeared as a boss, he has had many upgrades, from extra meter to being able to use EX moves without meter at all.

Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, the fifth arcade iteration of the Street Fighter II games, where he appears as a hidden character. After meeting certain requirements, Akuma appears prior to the player's final match with M. Bison and obliterates M. Bison before challenging the player. In the Japanese arcade version of the game, Akuma would introduce himself to the player before the match, proclaiming himself to be the "Master of the Fist" (拳を極めし者,Ken o Kiwameshi Mono?). He also has two endings in the game as well: one for defeating M. Bison, and another against himself. While these endings were omitted from the international releases of the arcade game, they were edited into one ending and included in the English localization of Super Turbo Revival for the Game Boy Advance. Shin Akuma is, however, an unlockable playable character in the Game Boy Advance version of the game, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival, as well as the Japan-only Dreamcast version of the game, Super Street Fighter II X for Matchmaking Service. In the latter version, another version of Akuma referred to as Tien Gouki can also be selected.

Akuma appears in Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams once again as a hidden opponent and unlockable character. His backstory remains the same as in Super Turbo. Akuma was added to the immediate roster in Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter Alpha 3, with a powered-up version of the character named "Shin Akuma" appearing as a hidden opponent. The character's relation with other Street Fighter characters begins to be fleshed out, establishing rivalries with Guy, Adon, Gen and Ryu. Shin Akuma, rather than "Final Bison", is Evil Ryu's final boss in the console versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Akuma and Shin Akuma are featured in Street Fighter EX as hidden boss characters, where he is one of the few characters able to move out of the 2D playing field, during his teleport. Akuma also appears in the arcade and home video game console adaption of Street Fighter: The Movie despite not appearing in the movie.

Both secret boss and playable versions of a new form of Akuma, known as Oni (狂オシキ鬼,Kuruoshiki Oni, lit. The Mad Demon?), were confirmed in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition by leaked videos.[4] Unlike Shin Akuma, Oni is the being that would consume Akuma after mastering the Satsui no Hadou.[citation needed]

In the SNK vs. Capcom series, Akuma appears in Capcom vs. SNK and SVC Chaos as both regular Akuma and as a version of "Shin Akuma". In Capcom vs. SNK 2, a different form of Shin Akuma appears. This form of Akuma achieves a new level of power when a dying Rugal Bernstein pours his Orochi power into him. His name is spelled in Japanese as 神・豪鬼, with the "Shin" character meaning "God" instead of the usual "True".

Akuma's first speaking appearance in animation was in an episode of the American Street Fighter animated series titled "Strange Bedfellows", in which Akuma traps Guile and M. Bison on his island, forcing the two sworn enemies to team up. He reappears in another episode, "The World's Greatest Warrior", in which he defeats Ryu and Ken's master Gouken, and challenges Gouken's two students to a duel.

Akuma also figures prominently in the Japanese OVAStreet Fighter Alpha: The Animation, where Ryu's encounters with Akuma triggers the "Dark Hadou" in Ryu. Akuma is also the central focus in the OVA Street Fighter Alpha: Generations, which explores his past and ties the character's past with Ryu's. In the English dub, the character is addressed by his Japanese name Gouki.

Akuma appears in the beginning of the movie Street Fighter 4: The Ties That Bind, where he enters Ryu's mind and torments him. He inquires about why and how long Ryu intends to resist the Satsui no Hado to which he responds "Until my last breath!" and that he aims for something higher than power. But Akuma dismisses this as foolishness of the highest order, given that Ryu doesn't know exactly what he seeks. Akuma goes on by saying that Ryu's blood is calling out to him and that he must answer it with his life. But Ryu keeps refusing sternly, prompting Akuma to tell him that he will murder him himself and states that this mundane world is of no concern to them as they grow stronger by consuming human life. Having had enough, Ryu tells him off by unconsciously using the Satsui no Hado, causing Akuma to burst in laughter before vanishing.

UDON Entertainment's line of Street Fighter comics sets Akuma in his origin story on how he became a demon and murdering Goutetsu with the power of the Dark Hadou, he fights against Gouken ten years later, as they fight, Gouken eventually wins against Akuma as he falls off a cliff, Gouken tries to save him, but Akuma willingly drops himself into a river, only for him to survive the drop. Many years later, his role is similar to the one he filled in Street Fighter Alpha 2, acting as an antagonist for Ryu's dark desires. Akuma begins the series by murdering his brother and Ryu and Ken's master Gouken in battle, prompting Ryu to seek vengeance on him. Akuma emerges at the end of the first arc (in issue #6) and engages Ryu and Ken, which he easily dominates. Rather than destroying him, he tells Ryu to seek him out at the next Street Fighter tournament. During the final series of comics, Street Fighter II Turbo, Akuma makes his appearance at the grand finals of the Street Fighter tournament, stepping between Ryu and M. Bison. Intrigued, Bison fights Akuma, which ends fatally for Bison. Akuma is then free to fight Ryu, which he does as the island begins to sink beneath the sea. The battle favors Akuma but as he is about to defeat Ryu, Gouken then returns to rescue Ryu and finish the fight with his brother. The end of this battle is not seen as Shadaloo island is consumed by the ocean and Ryu is transported from the island by Dhalsim. A few years later, he senses the darkness growing within Sakura.

In July 2012, the band MegaDriver released the song about Akuma's character, called "Wrath Of The Raging Demon".[9] In March 2015, YouTube rapper Tauz released a tribute song to Akuma, called "Rap do Akuma".[10] That same year, in June, musician Python Blue released a remix version of Akuma's theme on Street Fighter tribute album "Synth Fighters".[11] Akuma was featured in Screwattack online series Death Battle where he was pitted against Shang Tsung from Mortal Kombat. They fought a hypothetical battle, and Akuma defeated Shang Tsung with Raging Demon.[12] Akuma was also featured in another ScrewAttack series One Minute Melee where he fought against Kenpachi Zaraki from Bleach. He ended up winning when he sent Kenpachi flying with Demon Armageddon.[13] They fought in a rematch in season 2, and Akuma won again, transforming into Oni and finishing Kenpachi with Misogi.[14] Akuma's artwork was featured on an officially licenced animated Nubytech/UDON joypad for the PlayStation 2,[15] and a Mad Catz wireless joypad for the PlayStation 3.[16]

Akuma has received near-universal acclaim. In the 1997 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, Akuma appeared in its "Top 50 Characters of 1996" list, sharing the 37th spot with two other characters.[17] In Game Informer‍ '​s list of "Top Ten Best Fighting Game Characters", Akuma placed first.[18] In Shinkan Crossing's "Top 8 Most Badass Video Game Characters of All Time" list, Akuma placed 5th for his design and fighting style.[19] He was 11th in GameDaily's list of "Top 25 Capcom Characters of All Time" due to his design and special abilities.[20] He also ranked 9th in the site's list of the "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time".[21]IGN ranked Akuma at number five in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters", noting his role as a recognizable "bad guy" in the series, while Dorkly placed him at 3rd place in their list "The 15 Greatest Street Fighter Characters of All-Time".[22][23]UGO Networks included Akuma in their list of the "Top 50 Street Fighter Characters" while Complex ranked Akuma as the 7th best Street Fighter character, with comments focused on his special moves.[24][25] IGN ranked Akuma as the "Top 43rd Videogame Villain", commenting "While he's no longer much of a mystery when he shows up, his powerful move set ensure he'll always be a formidable foe".[26]GamesRadar ranked Akuma as the "51st best video game villain", as the "16th best unlockable character", his guest appearance in X-Men: Children of the Atom as the "7th awesome character cameo" and his stage in Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike as the "5th most amazing fighting game background".[27][28][29][30] In GamesRadar articles for Marvel vs Capcom 3 and Street Fighter X Tekken, they called him "A brutal fighter, Akuma is fueled by an urge to be the strongest, not to be a world-conquering sociopath or to terrorize the society."[31][32]GameSpot featured Akuma in a "Reader's Choice" edition of their "Top Ten Video Game Villains", where he placed 9th on the list while The Penniless Gamer ranked him 4th on their "The Top 10 Villains in Video Games" list.[33][34] Similarly, GamingBolt ranked him 35th in their "Top 100 Greatest Video Game Villains of All Time" list while WhatCulture ranked Akuma as the "17th greatest video game villain of all time", adding "With the ability to send out fireballs even while airborne and teleport all over the screen his powerful move set mean no one forgets fighting against Akuma."[35][36]Complex ranked Akuma as first in their list of "The 50 Most Dominant Fighting Game Characters", commenting "Anybody that can lay out M. Bison with ease gets the number one spot in everything".[37]Complex also named the fight with Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as second in their list of "Coolest Boss Battles Ever".[38] Arcade Sushi named Akuma for his appearances in X-Men: Children of the Atom and CyberBots: Full Metal Madness as one of the "Best and worst fighting game guest stars", as the 2nd "Best secret boss of gaming", his Raging Demon as the 5th "most iconic fighting game move", Shin Akuma's Raging Demon and Oni's Tenchi Sokaigen as 6th and 3rd "greatest fighting game super moves" and as the "best fighting game bad guy", adding "the honor of top fighting game bad guy obviously goes to Akuma, the man who sold his soul for power."[39][40][41][42][43][44] Similarly, Prima Games ranked The Raging Demon as the 7th "greatest fighting move in video game history", while Thunderbolt Games listed Akuma's V-ism OTG custom combo as one of "Fighting Games' Most Infamous Combos".[45][46]

In a review for Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, Gaming Age said Akuma's introduction, along with Hugo's, added to the game's appeal, noting him as "everybody's favorite bad boy".[47]GamesRadar described him as "[o]ne of the top bad guys in the SF universe, and ... big in the Alpha sub-series."[48]GameSpy named Akuma as one of the "25 Extremely Rough Brawlers" in video gaming, praising the brutality of his fighting style.[49] GameSpot called Akuma "the toughest fighter to have been actually introduced in the Street Fighter legend" and noting his "Shin Akuma" form to be "a truly unstoppable force."[50] Similarly, Capcom UK named Akuma (along with his Shin and Oni forms) the most powerful Street Fighter character.[51] IGN called Akuma the clear "fan-favorite 'bad guy' of the Street Fighter universe" and praised his "stylish" special moves.[52] Shortlist Magazine named Akuma's Demon Armageddon and Kongou Kokuretsuzan as one of the "best Street Fighter moves", while UGO.com listed Akuma's Raging Demon as the 28th most gruesome finishing move.[53][54] Similarly, Complex ranked it as the fifth coolest fighting game super combo.[55]Complex also ranked Akuma's Wrath of the Raging Demon as the 44th craziest fatality in video games,[56] and Oni's Messatsu-Gotenha at 42nd place.[57] The same site also stated he is popular because the way in which he was introduced and "the bizarre series of events that led to his creation", concluding "There is no great backstory, his evil is almost monolithic, his badassery legendary".[58] Chris Hoadley from VentureBeat named Akuma as one of the "Best (and worst) fighting game clones".[59] Infinite Ten named Akuma as the "8th best villain with standards" and as the "10th most powerful video game character".[60][61]

In contrast, Akuma was listed by GamePro as one of "Six of the Most Broken Characters in Videogame History", in which he was called "the bane of newbies and veterans alike" and compared with Street Fighter III‍ '​s Gill.[62] Similarly, Metro named him as one of the "video game characters that were just too good", calling him "one of the toughest Street Fighter characters who dominated every game he appeared in."[63] Den of Geek placed him 8th in their list "Ten video game characters you wouldn't want to meet down a dark alley."[64] In 2013, WhatCulture ranked Akuma as the second worst boss in fighting games, commenting "Give him to the AI and you’d have quite a fight on your hands."[65] That same year, Topless Robot ranked Akuma as "The Most Diabolical Boss From Classic Fighting Games", concluding "The flames, the symbol, the iconic pose... it's like a week's worth of swirlies crammed into three or four horrible seconds."[66] In 2014, GamesRadar ranked Akuma 11th in their list "12 unfair fighting game bosses that (almost) made us rage quit".[67]WatchMojo named Akuma as one of the "honorable mention" characters in their list "Top 10 Street Fighter Characters", as the "8th unfair playable character in gaming" and as the "7th best Capcom villain", adding "When your name translates to 'devil' in Japanese, you’re probably not the nicest guy in the world."[68][69][70] Video Game After Life named Shin Akuma from Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo as the "Cheapest Fighting Game Boss", commenting "Akuma is a tough guy in his normal form, but when he shows his true power, watch out!"[71] TopTenz listed Akuma as the "cockiest video game character", where they stated "the only person he admits to being worthy of his skills is…himself".[72] Leviathyn named Akuma the "3rd angriest man in gaming", stating "Cold, stoic, and deadly Akuma is the embodiment of evil in the Street Fighter Saga and refers to himself as the “denizen of hell”."[73]

Akuma's Oni incarnation has been commented for its appealing design resembling Gouken's and his powerful movesets. Deemed as one of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition‍ '​ strongest fighters, Oni was referred by IGN as an immediate favorite character.[74][75] However, GameSpot stated that since he uses modified versions from known techniques, he was one of the least interesting additions to the game.[76]